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Periodontopathogens in elderly Chinese with different periodontal disease experience
Author(s) -
Dahlén Gunnar G.,
Luan WenMin,
Baelum Vibeke,
Fejerskov Ole,
Chen Xia
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of clinical periodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.456
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1600-051X
pISSN - 0303-6979
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-051x.1995.tb00134.x
Subject(s) - prevotella intermedia , actinobacillus , dentistry , medicine , clinical attachment loss , actinomyces , prevotella , periodontal disease , periodontitis , gingival and periodontal pocket , etiology , porphyromonas gingivalis , biology , bacteria , genetics
If an etiological relationship exists between destructive periodontal disease and putative periodontopathogens, they would be expected to have a very low prevalence in periodontally healthy elderly persons. To test this hypothesis, 2 subgroups of elderly, rural Chinese (a periodontally “best” and a “worst” group, each comprising 15 persons) were identified in 1990 from a cohort aged 55–69 years, examined in 1984. Assessment of changes in periodontal status over the 6‐year period were possible by comparing detailed clinical recordings performed by the same examinator. Subgingival microbial samples were taken at the mesial aspects of an upper central incisor and a lower canine and examined for the presence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingi‐valis, Prevotella intermedia group, Prevotella melaninogenica group, Capnocyto‐phaga, Selenomonas, Campylobacter rectus as well as predominant Streptococcus and Actinornyces species. During the 6 years prior to microbiological sampling, persons in the “best” group had lost an average of 1.21 ±0.48 mm attachment, while persons in the “worst” group had lost an average of 1.60±0.94 mm. The latter group had lost 53.3 teeth, predominantly for periodontal reasons, in contrast to 1.8 teeth lost in the “best” group. “Best” persons did not differ from “worst” persons with respect to the occurrence of the putative periopathog‐ens, total viable count, and total streptococcal and Actinomyces recovery. Similarly, sites which had experienced an attachment loss 2 mm during the 6‐year period did not differ microbiologically from sites with less attachment loss. It is concluded that subgingival microbial characterization does not allow for a distinction between elderly individuals with markedly different periodontal disease experiences.